- Why in news
- On 3 September 2026, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment announced that NAMASTE occupational safety training began in West Bengal, with the first batch for Durgapur Municipal Corporation workers.
- What it is
- NAMASTE (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) is a Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment scheme. It aims at zero deaths from hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. It works through profiling of workers, safety training, protective equipment and mechanisation, with NSKFDC as a partner agency.
- Implementing ministry
- The scheme is run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, with NSKFDC among the agencies involved.
- Stipend and certificate
- Workers with at least 70 per cent attendance get a certificate and a Rs 1,000 stipend after assessment.
- West Bengal profiling
- West Bengal has profiled 7,630 sewer and septic tank workers and distributed PPE kits to identified workers.
- Technical partner
- CSIR-CMERI is proposed as a one-stop centre for training, testing and verification of safety equipment for sanitation workers.
- Core aim
- Workers should not have to enter sewers or septic tanks manually.
- Launch year
- The scheme began in FY 2023–24.
- Sewer worker coverage
- 90,942 sewer and septic tank workers were profiled and 89,248 validated.
- Waste pickers added
- Waste pickers became a target group from June 2024, in urban and rural areas.
- New PSSO component
- A 25% upfront capital subsidy now goes to private sanitation service organisations and private contractors for mechanised equipment.
- ERSUs
- Safety devices have been sent to Emergency Response Sanitation Units set up in larger municipal corporations and districts.
- Nodal ministry
- The scheme sits with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which was represented by its Minister of State at the event.
- Workers verified
- Across the country, 89,248 sewer and septic tank workers have been verified so far.
- Waste pickers
- The scheme also profiles waste pickers: 1,87,120 have been profiled across the country.
- Health cover
- Workers are linked to Ayushman Bharat health insurance. Ayushman cards were given at the event.
- Livelihood support
- Workers who completed skill training received sewing machines to support alternative livelihoods.
- Implementing partner
- NSKFDC, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation, is a partner agency; its Managing Director attended.
Don’t confuse with NAMASTE vs SRMS: SRMS (Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers) was the earlier rehabilitation scheme. NAMASTE focuses on sewer and septic tank workers, safety and mechanisation.
Don’t confuse with NAMASTE vs Manual Scavengers Act, 2013: The 2013 Act is a law that prohibits manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning. NAMASTE is a scheme that helps put its aims into practice.
Don’t confuse with Swachh Bharat Mission: SBM deals with sanitation infrastructure and cleanliness. NAMASTE targets the safety and livelihoods of sanitation workers.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Reduces deaths and health risks of sanitation workers through training, PPE and mechanisation.
- Gives workers recognition and dignity through profiling, identity cards and access to benefits.
- It aims to end deaths in sewer cleaning and protect the right to life with dignity (Article 21).
- Capital subsidy turns workers into sanitation entrepreneurs (Sanipreneurs), supporting livelihoods.
- Protects the lives and dignity of sanitation workers through safety gear, health cover and mechanisation.
- Links a marginalised group to social security and alternative livelihoods.
Problems
- Hazardous manual cleaning persists because Urban Local Bodies, contractors and private agencies do not always follow safety rules.
- Workers are often informal and hard to identify, so profiling and benefits may not reach all.
- Deaths in sewers continue and caste-linked work persists, so verification and enforcement remain weak.
- Waste pickers are a large informal group; validation lags (about 2.52 lakh of 3.79 lakh validated by e-KYC).
- Sewer deaths persist and enforcement of the ban on hazardous manual cleaning is weak.
- Workers are often informal, so identification and verification are hard.
Way forward
- Enforce safety rules on ULBs and contractors, and make mechanised equipment affordable and tested.
- Complete worker profiling and link workers to health cover, skills and alternative livelihoods.
- Strictly enforce the ban on manual entry into sewers, with penalties on contractors and local bodies.
- Speed up validation, health cover and loans, and expand mechanisation in smaller towns.
- Enforce mechanised cleaning strictly and penalise contractors and local bodies that flout it.
- Speed up verification and make skill training lead to real livelihoods.
Put in your answer
Emergency database: West Bengal collected workers' blood-group details to build an emergency database, an example of state-level practice.
Waste picker profiling: 3,78,547 waste pickers profiled, 2,52,163 validated via e-KYC.
NAMASTE coverage data (Feb 2026): 89,248 sewer and septic tank workers verified, 87,037 given PPE kits and 74,647 covered under Ayushman insurance.
- 2017Mains GS2 · Q6Examine synchronising WASH beneficiary segments with anticipated outcomes for effective policy implementation.
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q17Challenges to solid waste management, and the policy framework with Delhi and Indore cases.
- 2019Mains GS2 · Q18Discuss why welfare schemes for vulnerable sections are ineffective without awareness and involvement.
- 2016Prelims Q16Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan aims to eradicate manual scavenging and rehabilitate manual scavengers?
- 2017Prelims Q97Which rights under Right against Exploitation cover forced labour and human trafficking prohibition?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Statements
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements:
- 1.Waste pickers have been a target group under the NAMASTE scheme since its launch in FY 2023–24, in urban areas only.
- 2.Under the Swachhata Udyami Yojana, the ceiling for upfront capital subsidy for group projects (up to five beneficiaries) has been raised to ₹25 lakh.
- 3.The new component for Private Sanitation Service Organisations provides an upfront capital subsidy of 50% of project cost for mechanised cleaning equipment.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
True or false?
1 of 5
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.NAMASTE is implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
True. The scheme is run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
2.The scheme was launched in FY 2023–24.
True. Launch was in FY 2023–24.
3.Waste pickers have been covered under NAMASTE since its launch, in urban areas only.
False. They were added from June 2024, in both urban and rural areas.
4.Emergency Response Sanitation Units under the scheme are set up in larger municipal corporations and districts.
True. ERSUs are established in larger municipal corporations and districts.
5.The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 1993 is the law that currently bans manual scavenging in India.
False. The 2013 Act, which replaced the 1993 Act, is the current law.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Mains practice
15 marks · 250 words
The Social Justice Ministry has recently reported progress under the NAMASTE scheme, including raised subsidy ceilings under the Swachhata Udyami Yojana and the inclusion of waste pickers. Examine the provisions of the scheme and discuss the challenges in achieving its goal of zero fatalities in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, along with the way forward.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.